Probes for INS

Fibrosis is a relentlessly progressive and irreversible cause of organ damage, as in chronic kidney disease (CKD), but its underlying mechanisms remain elusive. We found that a circular RNA, circPTPN14, is highly expressed in human kidneys with biopsy-proved chronic interstitial fibrosis, mouse kidneys subjected to ischemia/reperfusion (IR) or unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO), and TGFβ1-stimulated renal tubule epithelial cells (TECs). The intrarenal injection of circPTPN14 shRNA alleviated the progression of fibrosis in kidneys subjected to IR or UUO. Knockdown of circPTPN14 in TECs inhibited TGFβ1-induced expression of profibrotic genes, whereas overexpressing circPTPN14 increased the profibrotic effect of TGFβ1. The profibrotic action of circPTPN14 was ascribed to an increase in MYC transcription. The binding of circPTPN14 to the KH3 and KH4 domains of far upstream element (FUSE) binding protein 1 (FUBP1) enhanced the interaction between FUBP1 and FUSE domain, which was required for the initiation of MYC transcription. In human kidneys (n = 30) with biopsy-proved chronic interstitial fibrosis, the expression of circPTPN14 positively correlated with MYC expression. Taken together these studies show a novel mechanism in the pathogenesis of renal fibrosis, mediated by circPTPN14, which can be a target in the diagnosis and treatment of CKD.

Mammalian nephrons arise from a population of nephron progenitor cells (NPCs) expressing the master transcription factor, WT1, which is crucial for NPC proliferation, migration, and differentiation. In humans, biallelic loss of WT1 precludes nephrogenesis and leads to formation of Wilms tumor precursor lesions. We hypothesize that WT1 normally primes the NPC for nephrogenesis by inducing expression of NPC-specific DNA-repair genes that protect the genome. We analyzed transcript levels for a panel of DNA-repair genes in E17.5 vs adult mouse kidneys and noted seven that were increased >20-fold. We then isolated d1(+) NPCs from E17.5 kidneys and found that only one, Neil3, was enriched. RNAscope ISH of E17.5 mouse kidneys showed increased Neil3 expression in the nephrogenic zone vs mature nephron structures. To determine whether Neil3-expression is WT1-dependent, we knocked down Wt1 in d1(+) NPCs (60% knockdown efficiency) and noted a 58% reduction in Neil3 transcript levels. We showed that WT1 directly binds to the Neil3 promoter and that activity of a Neil3 promoter-reporter vector was increased two-fold in WT1(+) vs WT1(-) cells. We propose that Neil3 is a WT1-dependent DNA-repair gene, expressed at high levels in d1(+) NPCs where it repairs mutational injury to the genome during nephrogenesis. NEIL3 is likely just one of many such lineage-specific repair mechanisms that respond to genomic injury during kidney development.

FOXD1+ derived stromal cells give rise to pericytes and fibroblasts that support the kidney vasculature and interstitium but are also major precursors of myofibroblasts. ZEB2 is a SMAD-interacting transcription factor that is expressed in developing kidney stromal progenitors. Here we show that Zeb2 is essential for normal FOXD1+ stromal progenitor development. Specific deletion of mouse Zeb2 in FOXD1+ stromal progenitors (Zeb2 cKO) leads to abnormal interstitial stromal cell development, differentiation, and kidney fibrosis. Immunofluorescent staining analyses revealed abnormal expression of interstitial stromal cell markers MEIS1/2/3, CDKN1C, and CSPG4 (NG2) in newborn and 3-week-old Zeb2 cKO mouse kidneys. Zeb2 deficient FOXD1+ stromal progenitors also took on a myofibroblast fate that led to kidney fibrosis and kidney failure. Cell marker studies further confirmed that these myofibroblasts expressed pericyte and resident fibroblast markers including PDGFRβ, CSPG4, Desmin, GLI1, and NT5E. Notably, increased interstitial collagen deposition associated with loss of Zeb2 in FOXD1+ stromal progenitors was accompanied by increased expression of activated SMAD1/5/8, SMAD2/3, SMAD4, and AXIN2. Thus, our study identifies a key role of ZEB2 in maintaining the cell fate of FOXD1+ stromal progenitors during kidney development whereas loss of ZEB2 leads to differentiation of FOXD1+ stromal progenitors into myofibroblasts and kidney fibrosis.

Ureteric bud induction and branching morphogenesis is fundamental to the establishment of the renal architecture and is a key determinant of nephron number. Defective ureteric bud morphogenesis could give rise to a spectrum of malformations associated with congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT). Signaling involving glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor and its receptor RET and coreceptor GFRA1 appears to be particularly important in ureteric bud development. Recent epigenome profiling studies have uncovered dynamic changes of histone H3 lysine K4 (H3K4) methylation during metanephros development, and dysregulated H3K4 methylation has been associated with a syndromic human CAKUT.To investigate whether and how inactivation of Ash2l, which encodes a subunit of the COMPASS methyltransferase responsible for genome-wide H3K4 methylation, might contribute to CAKUT, we inactivated Ash2l specifically from the ureteric bud lineage in C57BL/6 mice and examined the effects on genome-wide H3K4 methylation and metanephros development. Genes and epigenome changes potentially involved in these effects were screened using RNA-seq combined with CUT&Tag-seq.Ureteric bud-specific inactivation of Ash2l caused CAKUT-like phenotypes mainly involving renal dysplasia at birth, which were associated with deficient H3K4 trimethylation. Ash2l inactivation slowed proliferation of cells at the ureteric bud tip, delaying budding and impairing ureteric bud branching morphogenesis. These effects were associated with downregulation of Ret, Gfra1, and Wnt11, which participate in RET/GFRA1 signaling.These experiments identify ASH2L-dependent H3K4 methylation in the ureteric bud lineage as an upstream epigenetic regulator of RET/GFRA1 signaling in ureteric bud morphogenesis, which, if deficient, may lead to CAKUT.